Alone
by ThatRandonFangirlGamer
Summary: After a deranged Mookie breaks out of Jail fully intending to kill his former partner, a severe injury leaves Joey in a coma. Unable to power up, AP must find new ways to protect himself and the city. Old heroes will return, sacrifices will be made, promises will be broken, and strings will be unraveled...
1. You Always Have

"Go easy on your father," Vivian said, pecking her son on the cheek before returning upstairs with a sleepy Abbie.

"You'd better be going off to bed, too, Joey," Phil said, putting a gentle hand on Joey's shoulder. Joey sighed exhaustedly and nodded his head. He had a long day.

"I agree," AP chimed in, perched inside Joey's jacket pocket, "You have to be ready for a long day of crime fighting tomorrow."

"Yeah," Joey chuckled tiredly, and then with a yawn he added, "I'm going to sleep."

"Hold on," his father said, "Can your puppet- er, Atomic Puppet- stay here for a moment?"

"You can call me AP," he replied with a boastful pose, hands where his hips would be if he were still human, and chest puffed out, "And I would be happy to stick around for a while."

Normally, joey would object to leaving AP with his dad on account of, even though he'd promised not to, he might accidentally blow their cover. However, he was too tired to try and argue. He rubbed his tired eyes and walked up the stairs, dragging his feet all the way to his room.

"What is it you want to discuss, sir?" AP asked Phil, "I know! I bet you want an autograph from the amazing Atomic Puppet!" AP hopped from the floor to the kitchen counter with series of flips.

"No," Phil replied quietly, prompting a dejected sigh from AP. "Um," Phil continued lowly, "I guess there's a few things that I need to say. What I said earlier today, about Captain Atomic, er, you, abandoning us. You heard that, didn't you?"

AP crossed his arms with a huff, "yes, I did hear that."

"Look, I'd like to apologise for what I said. It's just, you disappeared- You weren't there- I didn't realize- Of course if I had known-" Phil sighed, frustrated with himself, "Well, I guess there's no excuse for what I said. I shouldn't have spoke without knowing your side of the story."

"It's understandable," AP admitted, crumpling up slightly at the thought of himself abandoning his city. He straightened up a bit, switching to a more prideful pose. "Apology accepted!" he exclaimed quietly. "If that is all, I will be-"

"Wait," phil interrupted him, "there's something else."

"Ok," AP said, sitting down.

"It's Joey," Phil said.

"What about Joey?" AP asked.

"It's… Well, I'm not going to make you guys stop doing your hero thing, but," Phil sighed, "Joey. He's twelve. He's a kid, he does stupid things like all kids do. He doesn't know the world like we do."

"Yeah," AP chuckled with a shrug, "He's a bright boy, but man does he make stupid miskates sometimes."

"Look, he's a great partner for you, he's doing great," Phil explained, "All I ask of you is that you keep it that way. He needs guidance."

"I already help the kid know what to do in battle," AP responded, "He knows what to do in chases, heists, fights, all of it!"

"I meant what he needed was someone to keep him safe," Phil explained further, exasperated, "Heroism isn't exactly the safest job, and you can see my concern when I know that that's my little boy out there, fighting those monsters and putting his life on the line."

"Well, sir, I do my best, but I'm just one puppet," AP replied softly.

"Promise me you'll keep him safe," Phil pleaded.

"Of course," AP said, "You have my word."

"Thank you," Phil sighed sounding both sad and consoled at the same time. They exchanged a look, as if it sealed the promise. Then Phil left the room silently.

"You always have," AP murmured to the empty room. Quietly, he pushed himself of the counter. He slipped up the stairs and through the hallway, careful to sneak especially quietly past Abbie's room. He knew Joey would be upset if some "bump in the night" scared her awake. The door to Joey's room was open a crack, as it always was at night so he could go in and out as he pleased throughout the night. Sleeping wasn't something he had to do as a puppet, he just enjoyed it; it was habitual from his human hood. Climbing into his small drawer he slept in, he pondered Phil's words. Of course he looked out for Joey, he had been since day one. Nothing bad would ever happen to Joey on his watch, ever!

He looked over at Joey, who stirred in his sleep for a moment, and then was still. In a whisper just barely louder than silence, AP repeated to himself, "You have my word. You always have."


	2. Jailbreak

p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" Mookie stared up at the ceiling of his cell, looking at the small cracks in the concrete intensely, as if one might break open and release him. The moonlight streamed in weakly from his jail cell window. The small beams shone between the bars over the window onto his bunk where he laid. He could hardly sleep at night. Every since he had been imprisoned, he had laid awake most of the night, simmering in his anger./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"At least his fellow prisoners, as well as most of the city, knew that it was he that was the one to get rid of Captain Atomic. He never really elaborated on what he met by "got rid of," but most people tended to think that he killed Captain Atomic. He liked that version a lot better. At the time, he thought he could be a hero, if only Captain Atomic was not. There was a time he cared about his former partner, cared about what he thought about him. A time where he thought he needed to prove himself to him. He wished he never cared, and never wanted to be a hero. He was a wonderful villain, and he didn't need anyone's approval anymore. He didn't need Captain Atomic anymore./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Now that was an idea. What would be the harm, anyways, if he were to truly get rid of Captain Atomic- for real this time? He didn't need Captain Atomic anymore. If everyone thought he was a murderer, then why not get some real blood on his hands? In this case, it was less of blood, and more of threads and other craft materials. "Maybe," he murmured to himself so quietly no one could here him, "It's time to do what I should have done a long time ago."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"He remembered a tool he had with him. One of his prison mates, an admirer he'd earned with his defeat of Captain atomic, gave it to him "Just in case." It seemed like a small, unassuming piece of metal, but in actuality, it was a laser that he could carry around in his pocket. He kept it within his pillow for fear that the guards might confiscate it. It was his first gift from a fan, and he wasn't too keen on losing it. However, this seemed like the "just in case" scenario his friend had meant./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Very carefully, without a sound, he checked the hallways for guards. None were present. He aimed the laser at the bars in his window. He cautiously triggered the laser, ready to silence any noise it could make. With a sigh of relief, he found it to make no more than a hum, which was barely audible to himself, much less any unwelcome ears. The bars were cut clean, still standing as they were before they were cut, waiting to be removed. The laser was an contraption of great design, not only delivering the user graceful precision with ease, but also providing near-perfect slices. Mookie smile. It's very useful to be friends with a skilled inventor that can make things out of the scarce metal she could get her hands on./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"He grabbed the metal bars and smoothly pulled them out one by one. They felt cold- perfect -against his palms. He wrapped them up in his blankets until the blanks were a roundish mound. He positioned it on his bed, taking care that the moonlight, which had become more dull as clouds gathered in the sky, would not expose the that he used the blanket to create a silhouette of his sleeping body upon the bunk. He squeezed himself out the small window, a tight fit but he made it nonetheless, falling hard on the stone. Hands sprawled out to catch himself, he felt the jagged edges of the rock dig into his skin. He couldn't careless about the warmth he felt running down his fingers, nor the cold droplets he felt beginning to fall from the sky. He just wanted off this island and back into Mega city./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"He wandered behind the prison. It was safer there, it was unmonitored. The level of security in the prison was atrocious, which worked in his favor. He just needed something to get him off the island and towards Atomic Puppet. He could hardly see as the moon was hidden behind the growing storm clouds. He stumbled around in the inky black, slipped on a rock slick with rain, and fell off a small overhang he hadn't seen. His side smacked into something with a woody crack before his feet hit the hard, stone ground. Some poor, dead tree had taken the blunt force of his fall, and it's brittle roots were ripped from between the gaps of the rocks it had ground around. It was small, but it would work for the idea it gave him./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"He snapped what branches he could from the tree's corpse. It didn't feel good on his already damaged hands, but it had to be done. From there, he made his way done the slippery, sharp cliffside, making sure the tree log wasn't too far behind him. Sliding down precariously rock after rock, eventual he reached a sudden drop and plunged into the cold waters around the island. "There's no going back now," He thought, as he tugged the log in after him, "I sure hope this works." Miraculously, the tree was water-beaten enough from waves hitting the island to be buoyant./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"He clung to his makeshift boat, being attacked mercilessly by the waves, and he thought he would capsize and drown. "It's him or me," He thought harshly, taking in a swift, sharp breath as the salty water stung the cuts on his hands. He did his best to steer his little log-boat towards the barely-visible lights of Mega City. The wind and waves made it a difficult task, and after a while of fighting the water, his arms were aching, but just when he was going to give up and let the sea take him, he caught a current that sent him near the beach of the city. He paddled weakly onto the sand, somehow still alive./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Exhausted, he shuffled around, racking his brain to remember the dark alleys and sleepy neighborhoods of the city so he could sneak around. He made his way down a path he could never forget. Jump this fence, down this alley, turn this corner, into a smaller alley, second door down… Jump this fence, well, he barely pulled himself over, stumbling tiredly when he hit the ground, and walked sluggishly down and out the alley he had landed in. Now down the street with the burned out street lamps the city had never bothered to fix, slowly like a ghost, so voided by shadows no one could see him to mistake him for one. Around the corner he saw the gap, so small you might miss it if you didn't know it was there./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"There were three doors in this alleyway, the second one down was the one he wanted. It was some small living space someone had abandoned that he found one day while fleeing a threat, and ever since his old lair had blown up, it was where he had been hiding out. He pushed the door open with a quivering arm. He sighed deeply and laughed quietly in relief as he took two shakey steps through the door. He closed the door softly behind him, and then collapsed to the door in exhaustion./p 


	3. Patrol

p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""C'mon, Joey, It's patrol time!" AP pestered from atop the bedside table./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Joey groaned as he pushed himself up. Seated up on his bed, he yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm awake."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"AP grinned. "Finally. You slept more than usual this morning."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""I realize that, and I'm sorry," Joey mumbled, "We had a long night yesterday."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Well, c'mon! It's Sunday so we don't have to worry about em style="box-sizing: border-box;"school."/em AP said, thinking bitterly of his days spent in the school bag waiting for something to happen./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Alight," Joey sighed and smile, "It's…"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Atomic time!" They both shouted, as AP hopped onto Joey's hand. With a crackle of electricity, they were powered up into the Atomic Puppet. They broken through the gap in the roof that had been filled in with planks./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Patrol usually consisted of small things for them to do. Of course, there were days when they'd get some real action, and some super villain would appear for them to fight. Most days, however, consisted of flying around Mega City, doing little acts for people that were in some small danger. Not that Joey minded the monotony. Flying around was really fun; it was his favorite part of being a hero, the cherry on top to his biggest dream come true. Plus, going on patrol made AP so happy, and seeing AP happy made him happy./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"AP guided them as they flew. Joey could dictate where he wanted to go easily if he desired to. Usually, though, he let AP do it and he followed, since, with his hand outstretched, AP was in the lead. Joey stared out at the clouds. If was so calm and quiet in the morning. No air traffic was over the city at this time of day, villains were usually sit scheming this early, and even the bustling of the city seemed quieter than it usually was./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Hold on," called AP, stopping abruptly. Joey followed as he said, halting. He gave one last gaze at the clouds, already missing the calm which he felt was about to be ripped from his hands. He looked down, following AP's stare./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Is that…?" Joey trailed off, locking eyes with a familiar face./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Mookie!" AP interjected, "How'd he get out of jail?"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Quick as flash, Mookie was in the air./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Woah!" Joey gasped, "His utility belt!"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""A friend tweaked it for me," Mookie sneered, and lunged forward at them. AP and Joey swerved swiftly, barely dodging the attack./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Be careful Joey," AP warned with a flinch as Mookie turned around to face them again, staring intensely, "Mookie has a weird glint in his eyes. I've never seen him like this before!"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Joey noticed something gleaming in the sunlight. "What's that he's got in his hand?" he asked his partner./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Mookie dived at them once again, grinning with anticipation. AP felt something sharp graze against his tiny puppet body./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""It's a needle?" AP answered in shock, "Why on Earth is he attacking us with a needle?"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""You know why," Mookie hissed./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"The two heroes avoided another attack. "We do?" Asked Joey./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Of course you do!" Mookie roared, "I'm going to give you what you deserve!"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""What I deserve?" Joey puzzled./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Not you, boy," Mookie growled, "You just got in the way. Look, if you just give me the puppet now, we can stop fighting."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Not gonna happen!" Joey cried, atomic punching Mookie, pushing him back a great length./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Mookie retaliated, returning the attack in an instant. He sunk the needle deep into AP's fabric, and then pulled away./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Joey sucked in a breath as the needle shallowly cut into his hand. AP cried out as he frayed from the wound. Mookie laughed when he saw what he'd done. "And there's a lot more to come, puppet," he taunted./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Stay away from him!" Joey screamed, coming in for another atomic punch. Just as he was about to connect, Mookie grabbed his wrist and twisted around, so Joey was immobilized./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""I'll be taking that!" Mookie gloated, pulling AP from Joey's hand. Joey and AP powered down, to both of their horror. Mookie held AP at eye level, and whispered, "I can't wait to tear you apart, thread by thread."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Joey used his free hand to smack Mookie's fist. AP flew out of Mookie's grip. Joey tried to catch AP, but Mookie grabbed his other wrist. AP batted helplessly at the air, like he could grab the sky and claw his way back to Joey. "Ump!" he grunted as he hit the ground./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"A familiar voice behind him yelled, "AP! Are you okay?" It was Pauline. She grabbed him and pulled him up to her shoulders for him to perch on./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Pauline? What are you doing here?" AP asked./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Pauline shrugged, "I always follow you when you're on patrol in case something happens."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Well, something happened. Something big," AP murmured, "It's Mookie. I don't know what happened to him, but his tools are better, and he's trying to kill me!"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Pauline gasped, "He trying em style="box-sizing: border-box;"to kill you?!/em"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""I have to get back to Joey," AP pleaded, "You have to help me! I don't know what Mookie might do!"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""You want me to help you get back to the man who wants to kill you specifically," Pauline asked skeptically./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Joey needs me right now, Pauline," AP said softly. Their eyes met, and she gave him a small nod of understanding./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Back in the air, Mookie had Joey's wrist held in an iron grip, bent at an angle. "You insufferable little brat! I would have let you go if you had just let me-!"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""I won't let you hurt my friend!" Joey interrupted. Mookie glared at him, applying more pressure to his wrist. With a sickening snap, Joey screamed in pain./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Joey!" AP and Pauline screeched in unison./p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;""Let me tell you something, Joey Felt," Mookie hissed in his face, "You mean nothing to me. I don't care what happens to you."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;"Joey stared at Mookie, mouth agape, silent in his terror. Mookie swang Joey like a rag doll and let him fly into the distance. Pauline and AP cried out in shock as they watched him drop./p 


End file.
